If I look you in the eye, it’s for what I need to know. You’ll learn nothing. All you need to know is this uniform and the benevolent authority it represents. The more you fidget and try to persuade me, the solider I stand in these black shoes. I position myself between you and trouble and hope for your sake you respect that. As time goes by and I do not react, you’ll either comply or cross a line. I’ve been trained for both. Do you want to do this here? There’s a place we can go. I haven’t let a bomber past me yet and those I’ve detained will choose another airport next time to visit their families, or drive. The markers vary: too much engagement or too little, or the wrong kind. They smell like trouble; I pull them out of line. Usually, they’re not surprised. Now you, you want me to believe you’re distraught over your wife’s death. We’re checking on that. We need to verify that. No, we can’t just wait. You could be part of an ongoing plot. So, let’s review. Why, when I opened your bag, you went pale and collapsed to the floor, yes, that’s what I want to know. Yes, I noticed they were women’s clothes. I see this is hard. Listen, you have time for a quick story? No, your flight’s long gone. Buddy of mine, academy washout, takes a security job at a bank. Who goes into a bank these days? Little old ladies with social security checks. Turns out one of these customers is a young guy with a walker and a wig, robbing old ladies! How is that relevant? I don’t think that’s your real hair. Sit tight. I’m going to go looking for your dead wife.

..okay I’ll go first..this one is really current…who can we trust?…certainly not that which we think should be safe…this one is almost a tombstone for our naivety here in the land of the free, so sad so sad…
grantman

Thanks for going first, grantman. The question is and always will be, who’s more dangerous, the bomber or the benevolent authority?
–David

This morning, on another blog, I mentioned our “ever-diminishing civil rights”. Our society is moving towards the rule of the terrified by the terrifying. I had to look twice at “solider”. Great choice of word.
Thanks, Archie. I also like the way marital arts looks like martial arts. It’s hard to feel good about the erosion of civil rights, no matter what the benefits.
–David

I’m interested in the distinction between the “boring” bank with little old ladies and the “exciting” world of potential bombers. There’s a thread of self-importance in this that is so very much the domain of those wearing certain uniforms.
Yeah, they can really make life tough for the freshly widowed. Thanks, Wizzer.
–David